The Twin Chronicles
by Carpet Munchie
Summary: My take on the Oblivion main quest...with a twist. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please read and review it

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so please read and review it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Oblivion. All of the characters that aren't in the game are mine, though. Steal them, and I will have to hunt you down and stab you with a spoon.

* * *

The nights were always peaceful in Cheydenhal. The river that flowed through the town attracted fireflies, which lit up the water in a very serene way. Unfortunately, no person was outside at this time at night.

Except for one person…

The one person sat at the base of a large willow tree, looking into the river. His body was covered from head to toe in black cloth, making him look like a three-dimensional shadow. The man appeared to be deep in thought.

_How could they? _He thought. _I can't lead a broken guild. I can't—_

His thoughts were cut short as another person, this time a female in similar black attire, walked up and sat down next to the man.

"It's that time again, Listener." She said.

The man, Listener, as he was known to his Family, smiled. "You make it seem like it's a bad thing; that I'm the listener, and you're not." He knew he had hit a nerve of the woman's, but it didn't matter. Soon, he would have to leave again. It was his job, and responsibility, that he travels to Bravil, to speak to his Mother once a week. She was very wise, and she could give him advice on how to deal with this woman next to him, or any woman, for that manner.

"Anyway, I guess I will leave now. If I take Shadowmere, I should be back within a few days or so." Without waiting for an answer, Listener stood up and walked towards the gate.

* * *

Dareth sighed. His day was slowly getting worse by the minute, it seemed. First, it started to rain. Second, he lost his plans for an experiment he was working on only minutes before presenting them to the Arcane University, and now this. Someone bumped into him while on a stroll in the Imperial City, and took all of his gold!

The young mage leaned against a wall, his silver Dunmer hair falling in front of his face. These days always seemed to happen. To him. Well, it was better than last week. Last week he embarrassed himself in front of a noblewoman—one that he liked, no less.

"Hey, you." A voice called him out of his thoughts. "C'mere."

Dareth looked over towards the voice. It was a young Argonian, only about fourteen. However, unlike other Argonians, whose scales were vibrant red and green, the kid's scales were pitch black. The kid was holding a bulging sack in one hand.

Walking over to the Argonian, Dareth asked "Yes? Ummm, what do you want?"

Suddenly, three Imperial guards appeared, and before the Dark Elf mage and the Argonian kid knew it, they were being dragged off to the prison, for theft.

* * *

Aura listened to the fighting above the Bloodworks. The Bosmer heard the cheers of the crowd for the team that was winning, and the boos from the team that was loosing. It made no difference to her, though. It wasn't _her_ fighting. Although rather tall for a Wood Elf, Aura was still considerably short compared to, say, an Orc.

The voices grew into a roar; one of the fighters in the pit was killed.

Aura's green eyes closed. She wouldn't be fighting today. Today was a free-for-all; a day where the pit-dogs fought it out. It was her job to clean up the bodies after, and heal the combatants; after all, she was a healer. She sighed as she pulled her light brown hair back away from her face.

Aura sighed as she trudged up to the bloody door, passing the winner on the way back. He gave her a wink and the Bosmer rolled her eyes. Most men did that to her.

Although he didn't take off his pants, like some others did.

After cleaning out the Arena, Aura decided to go for a walk. It was a mistake she would regret soon after.

* * *

Listener placed a hand on a large, black horse with red eyes. "Good girl," he whispered. "I'll only be gone for a little bit, and then—" He stopped as he realized talking to a horse was a sign to others that one was insane. "Well, I'll be back." He turned and walked into Bravil.

Listener wanted to gag. The whole town smelt/smelled of sewage. He found the very lives of the town's inhabitants pitiful. The lived in their own garbage, and they would die in it, too. There were plenty of beggars, too. There weren't as many as in the Imperial City, but the beggars could still crowd the streets. Every few feet, he was stopped by a beggar.

It took him about a half hour to reach his destination; the statue the townspeople call the "Lucky Lady". They had no idea how lucky they were to have her here.

Listener approached the statue and placed one black hand on the metal. An icy cold feeling washed over him. He heard a voice in his head.

(_Welcome, Listener,_) the voice, a woman's voice, whispered.

_Night Mother,_ the Listener thought. There was no need for spoken words. The Night mother knew his thoughts. _What would Sithis like me to do?_

He heard a laugh from the world outside of his mind. Someone—a beggar—was laughing, running from guards with a purse in his hands. Listener rolled his eyes and listened to the Night Mother.

(_Well, my child. I have a very special task for you._)

_Yes, Mother?_

(_How do you feel about a client who is a Daedra Lord?_)

* * *

A/N: Whoot! I am done with the first chapter! Yeah, you'll find out who some people are in the next chapter. So anyways, review! Oh, and **NO** Listener is not Listener's real name…You'll find out in, like, some later chapter…as soon as I think of a name…

Oh. BTW, Dareth, Listener, Aura and the Argonian kid are all mine!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Yeah, I don't own Oblivion, yadda yadda yadda... But I do own Ateek, Dareth, Aura, and Listener.

Oh, and I also won't continue the story unless I get more reviews, sooooooo...review.

* * *

"Well. This day keeps getting better and better," Dareth sighed. Being blamed for theft was _not_ on his to do list today. The argonian kid behind him looked at the lock on the cell door, but said nothing. "Although, I highly doubt it could get any worse," the Dunmer mage said to himself.

"We can dig out," the Argonian said.

"Wh-WHAT! A-are you kidding me? You have to be joking, right? Please, tell me you're joking. There's no _way_ we can dig through _rock_!" Just to prove his point, Dareth tapped his knuckles on the rock wall, making a solid sound. "If there is one thing I do know, it is that rocks are solid!"

"The wall is rock, but the floor isn't."

Dareth looked. To his surprise, the floor was just dirt. _I was bested by a little kid? _"Alright. Just how are we able to dig out way out, hmmm? It's not like the guards give us shovels or anything."

The Argonian kid held up a pewter spoon. "It's not really a shovel, but it _will_ do the trick, only it'll take a little longer."

Dareth whistled in surprise. "Okay, how do you know all this? And what is your name, kid?"

"This is my third time in prison. First time I'm going to escape, though. And you can call me Ateek."

"Dareth. So, where are we going to dig?"

* * *

Listener, although most of his facial features were hidden underneath a cloak, scowled. He didn't really like the idea of a Daedra Lord as a client. The risks of the contract were too great, even for the _Listener_ of the _Dark Brotherhood_.

But still, the benifiets were much greater.

* * *

Aura sighed. _Great. Just bloody great!_ She never thought that she would be caught this soon. But she had been. All she did was kill a man, and he wasn't even a good person, too! It just wasn't fair. All she wanted to do now is leave this stupid cobweb-infested cell.

Her sensitive Bosmer ears heard noises comming from one end of her cell. They sounded like they were comming from underground.

"There's NO way I'm going to have a rat in my cell!" the Bosmer growled to herself.

Picking up a pot, she readied herself, waiting for the rat to come out from underground.

Dareth howled in pain as something above him smashed into his head. "By the Nine, woman! Don't hit me again!"

His attacker, a tall Bosmer woman, put down the pot and helped both the Dark Elf and Ateek out of the hole, and muttered a slight "sorry."

"Ateek..." Dareth said, his voice was full of anger. "You said that this hole-" the mage pointed to the hole in the ground, connecting the two cells, "-will get us _outside_ of the prison, not in someone else's cell!"

Ateek's orange eyes met Dareth's red ones. "I said _probably_. I remember me saying 'If we dig here, we can _probably_ escape. Or, we would be in another cell.'"

"I don't remember the other cell part."

Aura inturrupted. "You guys are trying to escape? Nobody has ever successfully escaped this prison in about fourty or fifty years! It's impossible!"

In the distance, the three heard a large wooden door creak open. Voices flowed into the cell like water. One was a female's, and three were men.

"My sons...they're all dead...I know it." An old man's voice. He sounded depressed and worn out.

"Nevermind that, sire. My job right now is to get you to safety." A woman's voice.

Four people stopped outside their cell. Three of them were guards, although they were covered head to toe in armor that wasn't the same as a regular Imperial Watch uniform. The other person, an old man, wore jem-encrusted robes.

"What are these prisoners doing here? This cell is supposed to be off-limits!" The woman shouted at one of the men, an Imperial.

The Imperial guard looked uncomfortable. "Err...the usual mix-up with the Watch. I'll be sure to--"

The woman inturrupted him. "Never mind. I want that gate open. Stand back, prisoners, I won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way."

The three obeyed, and the gate opened. Dareth whispered, "The rich man in the middle, if you didn't already know, is the _emperor!_"

The emperor looked at them. "You three," he began, "are the ones from my dreams." His face went from a curious look to a depressed look. "Then today is the day."

* * *

Listener led Shadowmere out of the stables. "I _really_ don't think this contract is good." He whispered to the horse. "I mean, Daedra Lords have their own cults, right? If I had my own cult, I'd use them, not some outsider, and _especially_ not the Dark Brohterhood, right?" Shadowmere seemed to understand and made a small whinney, as if agreeing with him. "And now I must be crazy. I'm talking to a horse, and you are understanding me!"

Listener sighed. This was going to be a long, long day.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Dareth asked Baurus, the last remaining Blade, the elite bodyguards for the emperor. "You want us three to travel to Chorrol, to meet with Jauffre, the grandmaster of the Blades, and find the lost heir, to stop whatever's happening with the entire red-cloaked mysterious assassin people? No, thank you."

Baurus, a Redguard, sighed. "Look. The Emperor trusted you three with the Amulet of Kings-" he motioned to the red Amulet in Aura's hands "-so you three have to do it. I don't think it will be that difficult. All you will have to do is give the amulet to Jauffre, and then everything will be alright."

Ateek sighed. "Alright, we'll do it."

"For a kid, you're really mature, you know." Aura said.

"That's because I've to live on my own. Living on the streets means no time for playing around."

Baurus smiled. "Take this exit out of the sewers. Then head straight to Chorrol. Take no chances. Today, the entire Empire will rest in your hands."

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah... not as long as I wanted it to be, so I'll bother you with a random story! (And yes, it is true)

Okay, so the day was Saturday , May 10th. It was the morning. I go outside of the house to get the newspaper and there is a _guitar_ lying on our front lawn. Of course, there was a party the night before, with the pot smokers living down the street, and the strap _does _smell like pot. But, yeah. If they were so stoned to forget they had a guitar, then they don't need it. So now I have two guitars! (I already had one)

So yeah. Review, dammit! I won't continue the story unless I get reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thanks to The Mad Dragon and Adramellech the Lombax for being awesome and reviewing. And YOU SHOULD TOO!

* * *

"Listen, Aura. Can't we stop, just for, maybe, five minutes? This walking thing really tires me out." Dareth panted as he leaned against a fence.

They were right outside of the Imperial City; standing outside the Wawnet Inn.

The Bosmer scowled. "If you're going to want to rest every few seconds, then I'm leaving you and going to Chorrol myself! Or maybe, _your highness_, you would like me to get you a horse-drawn carriage and grapes?"

The Dark Elf raised an eyebrow. "Are you being serious or sarcastic?"

"Can I just say something before you two kill each other?" The two elves turned to look at Ateek. The short black-scaled Argonian leaned on another fence. "I'm tired, too. We can sleep here at the inn tonight, and tomorrow, we will go to Chorrol, alright?" The Argonian was met with two okay's from both elves. "Okay. That's settled, then."

* * *

"Are you sure?" Listener asked a peasant in the Market District.

The beggar, pinned to a wall with a knife to his throat, stuttered "Yes! Yes, i-it's true! They came by just a few hours ago, a-and they were looking for t-traveling supplies! P-please, don't hurt me!" The beggar's scream was cut short, as the Listener placed a dark-clothed hand on the peasant's forehead and conjured a strong electric shock onto the beggar's forehead.

Listener let the lifeless body fall on the ground. It was pointless to let the pitiful life-form live to tell someone else about _him_. "A waste of time," he muttered to himself. _Just the same information. Nothing about where those three prisoners are going. Damn! A few hours; that could mean that they're a few hours in any direction._ Listener heard footsteps behind him; the metallic clang of steel against stone. A guard.

The guard came into the Listener's view just as he cast an invisibility spell on himself.

"What the--how did this happen?" The guard's face was a look of fear and confusion, as he looked upon the corpse of the beggar. "There's a murderer on the loose! I'--" A knife appeared out of nowhere and slit the guard's throat. Listener appeared, a silver dagger in his hand.

"Pitiful," he murmured

The assassin walked quickly to the gate closest to him. It was time to leave.

* * *

Aura couldn't sleep. Her mind was filled with the day's events. Being imprisoned, the emperor's death, getting the Amulet of Kings, the red-cloaked assassins. The wood elf was confused. "Why me?" she whispered. "I'm not special. I don't have any hero-like qualities, I've only killed _twice_."

She thought of Ateek, who was in another room with Dareth. He was only fourteen, a child. How could he have been pulled into this? It was obvious he was a thief, but what would happen to him? Aura knew that they would have to fight sooner or later. Did Ateek ever fight or take someone's life before?

Confused and tired, Aura slowly rolled over in her bed and let herself fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

Ateek rolled over in his sleep. In his mind, memories he had put behind him resurfaced.

_"Come on out, little boy." The deep, slurred voice of a man entered Atteek's ears. He was under a bed, covered in blood. "Why don' we play for a little bit?" A pair of black boots came into the young Argonian's field of vision, then a hooded face. "Hello."_

_"Jack, what are you doing? The guards are already alerted to our presence, thanks to you. They're on their way here." Another masculine voice. This one held an icy cold tone in it. "Leave the kid. It's not worth it."_

_Jack stood up. From his hiding place, Ateek could see both Jack, and the new man. "You are not my master. You may be the new Listener, but I still follow Ungolim. I don't have to listen to you."_

_The listener drew his sword. "I will not tolerate disobedience in the Brotherhood. I am sorry it had to come to this. You were one of the best, when you are sober."_

_There was a slicing sound, and then silence. Ateek looked around for the listener, but the young Argonian was among two bodies; Jack's, and his mother's._

* * *

**AN:** Not as long as I wanted it to be, but here you go. Sorry, I've been having writer's block recently, but I'm getting a little better, I guess.


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